velvet elvis. rob bell.
i bought this book back in july, but am just now finishing it. i think this is due to my bad habit of starting something but not following through. it's really starting to bother me. so i've tried to buckle down. it's just a lot to handle at once. but whatever you do, you must pick it up.
you must read it. you must process through it. discuss it.
you must question it.
[the idea that some people have faith and others don't is a popular one. but it is not a true one. everybody has faith.
everybody is following somebody.
the real question isn't whether we have it or not, but what we have put it in. everybody follows somebody. all of us make decisions every day about what is important, how to treat people, and what to do with our lives. these decisions come from what we believe about every aspect of our existence. and we got our beliefs from somewhere. we have been formed, every one of us, by this complicated mix of people and places and things. parents and teachers and artists and scientists and mentors- we are each taking all of these influences and living according to which teachings we have made our own. some insist that they aren't influenced by any person or religion, that they think for themselves. and that's an honorable perspective. the problem is they got that perspective from...somebody. they're following somebody even if they insist it is themselves they are following.
everybody is following somebody.
everybody has faith in something and somebody.
we are all believers.
a Christian shouldn't avoid the questions; a Christian should embraces them. in fact, to truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions. questions are not scary.
what is scary is when people don't have any. what is tragic is faith that has no room for them. central to the Christian experiences is the art of questioning God. not belligerent, arrogant questions that have no respect for our Maker. but naked, honest, vulnerable, raw questions, arising out of the awe that comes from engaging the living God.
true mystery, the kind of mystery rooted in the infinite nature of God, gives us answers that actually plunge us into even more...questions.
truth always leads to more...truth. because truth is insight into God and God is infinite and God has no boundaries or edges. so truth always has layers and depth and texture.
whatever the things are that make you feel fully alive and like the universe is ultimately a good place and you are not alone,
i need a faith that doesn't deny these moments but embraces them.
i need a spiritual understanding that celebrates these kinds of transcendent moments instead of avoiding them. these moments can't be tangents. they can't be experiences that distract from "real" faith. these moments can't exist on the edges, because they are a part of our faith. a spirituality that is real will have to make sense of them and show us how they fit. they are expressions of what it means to live in God's world.
if it is true, if it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. because it is from God. and you belong to God.]
and i believe what i believe
is what makes me what i am
i did not make it, no it is making me
it is the very truth of God and
not the invention of any man
rich mullins. creed.
you must read it. you must process through it. discuss it.
you must question it.
[the idea that some people have faith and others don't is a popular one. but it is not a true one. everybody has faith.
everybody is following somebody.
the real question isn't whether we have it or not, but what we have put it in. everybody follows somebody. all of us make decisions every day about what is important, how to treat people, and what to do with our lives. these decisions come from what we believe about every aspect of our existence. and we got our beliefs from somewhere. we have been formed, every one of us, by this complicated mix of people and places and things. parents and teachers and artists and scientists and mentors- we are each taking all of these influences and living according to which teachings we have made our own. some insist that they aren't influenced by any person or religion, that they think for themselves. and that's an honorable perspective. the problem is they got that perspective from...somebody. they're following somebody even if they insist it is themselves they are following.
everybody is following somebody.
everybody has faith in something and somebody.
we are all believers.
a Christian shouldn't avoid the questions; a Christian should embraces them. in fact, to truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions. questions are not scary.
what is scary is when people don't have any. what is tragic is faith that has no room for them. central to the Christian experiences is the art of questioning God. not belligerent, arrogant questions that have no respect for our Maker. but naked, honest, vulnerable, raw questions, arising out of the awe that comes from engaging the living God.
true mystery, the kind of mystery rooted in the infinite nature of God, gives us answers that actually plunge us into even more...questions.
truth always leads to more...truth. because truth is insight into God and God is infinite and God has no boundaries or edges. so truth always has layers and depth and texture.
whatever the things are that make you feel fully alive and like the universe is ultimately a good place and you are not alone,
i need a faith that doesn't deny these moments but embraces them.
i need a spiritual understanding that celebrates these kinds of transcendent moments instead of avoiding them. these moments can't be tangents. they can't be experiences that distract from "real" faith. these moments can't exist on the edges, because they are a part of our faith. a spirituality that is real will have to make sense of them and show us how they fit. they are expressions of what it means to live in God's world.
if it is true, if it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. because it is from God. and you belong to God.]
and i believe what i believe
is what makes me what i am
i did not make it, no it is making me
it is the very truth of God and
not the invention of any man
rich mullins. creed.
posted by jill m at 8:44 PM
5 Comments:
Jill - I picked up the book about 2 weeks ago and am devouring it. It coincided with Marcia's acceptance of Christ - the part about questioning made so much sense to her (and to me). Thanks for pointing the book out! Have a great (productive) week - you're in my prayers.
and now you have all this extra time...we'll have to have a bookstore date again so you can stock up and i can add to my "still need to read" pile!
not a silly question...i haven't read it but have wanted too and am a huge rich mullin's fan. for a time he was the music director at my church. pretty amazing hearing "boy like me/man like you" as the week's special music!
thanks for the encouragement
Hi Jill,
I agree that everyone has beliefs, and that even "not believing in anything" is a belief all in itself. However, I also think there are plenty of people who have no "faith" in anything - they follow no one. They are certainly shaped by their life's experience and see the world from their own unique perspective. But I think there's a big difference between believing or not believing, and having faith ...
Faith requires works, correct? Beliefs do not?
My 2¢
nice!
agreed that there is a big difference; i think faith takes beliefs a step further....
i believe the chair at my desk will hold me. it can look like a chair, act like a chair, and i may even see other people use it. i can look at it from ever angle and be assured of my belief. but i won't ever really know for sure unless i sit in it myself. the moment i put more weight on the chair than on my own legs, i am trusting my belief, i am putting my faith in the chair.
most people believe a lot of things and you are right, many do not act on them. but i don't know if anyone can live their life without sitting on something, without trusting in something else. perhaps they have sat in chairs in their past that couldn't hold them, chairs which proved themselves to be false, and prevented them from wanting to trust in anything else again. but i must say, i have never found anything to be more solid.
leave your 2¢ any time!
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